WHich Soundcard...

[illmatik]

Are audigy's the best? I listen to music\game\ and watch movies

But I've read on this forum that audigy's have shoddy drivers?

Need a sound card for my new comp!

 

[NeoMadHatter]

best bets right now are:
creative audigy
turtle beach santa cruz
hercules game theater xp
phillips acoustic edge

in no particular order. i like my hercules game theater xp the best. but that's personal preference. the turtle beach is what you will probably get more reccommendations for. they're the same card except the GTXP has a break out box which makes the price difference.

 

[illmatik]

Whats a break out box

 

[Paulson]

I've got the audigy platinum... then again I DJ with the computer so I wanted good sound....

let me tell you, this setup is damn damn damn nice

I don't know though, never tried any others so I can't really tell if there are better or not, I just am very pleased with the audigy...

 

[Rick014]

I've got a turtle beach santa cruz and haven't had any problems yet.
Very happy with the card.

 

[boi]

I have a audigy. Great sound. Sounds start crackling at more than 37.5MHz pci bus though.

 

[mithrandir2001]

Doesn't the audigy have fake 24-bit output, i.e. it converts all signals to 16-bit, processes them and reconverts them back to 24-bit?

 

[illmatik]

no seriously whats a break out box

 

[Siddhartha]

Originally posted by: illmatik
no seriously whats a break out box

It is a box that is connected to the sound card with a cable. The box has the connections, sockets, etc that are normally found on the card.

 

[Utterman]

Pics of breakout box from GTXP

I suggest the Game Theater XP if you want a large selection of input/output devices for your soundcard. This card performs great and you can get it for less than $100. If you don't want all the added features that the GTXP has, then I suggest getting Santa Cruz. They have the same quality audio, but with different features.

 

[Biggs]

Doesn't the audigy have fake 24-bit output, i.e. it converts all signals to 16-bit, processes them and reconverts them back to 24-bit?

Yes, making it a "fake" 24/96 sound card.


Basically, if you're more into stereo music and less care for bells and whistles(aka "features"), the Santa Cruz should be your primary choice.

 

[illmatik]

ooh so thats a break out box

I guess I'll probbaly be going for the santa cruz then! Thanks guys

 

[paralazarguer]

What's that? You're looking for a sound card blowout? I just so happen to have written one. Read it here

 

[jaeger66]

The Audigy can neither play nor record 24 bit/96kHz files.

 

[DocZaius]

Another vote for the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, it's a great card with good driver support.

 

[paralazarguer]

Well, it clearly states in the article that the ADC is capable of input at 24./96 but that the EMU10K2 can't handle it so the whole sound card can't do it. It does record at that bit rate and then thunk it down though. SPDIF also has no problem at 24/96. A lot of people do criticism creative's marketing but the card can do some of its functions at 24/96 so your statement isn't correct. Please read the article thoroughly.

 

[paralazarguer]

BTW I can both record and playback 24 bit/96 files with the audigy platinum in my clean machine two systems over. I can do with with either the SPDIF or thunked with sound forge studio 5.

 

[Mem]

best bets right now are:
creative audigy
turtle beach santa cruz
hercules game theater xp
phillips acoustic edge

I agree with that ,anyway I`m using an Audigy at the moment and it has never let me down in gaming or in drivers .

 

[jaeger66]

Take CoolEdit Pro v1.2, create a WAVE there - 24 bit, 96 kHz. It is real 24 bit 96 kHz, not a fake - it works with
Terratec fine, as well as with more professional hardware.

Create a sine-wave (Generate -> Tones) with frequency raising from 20 Hz to 48 kHz.

Now, start another CoolEdit Pro session, create an empty WAVE with the same parameters - 24 bit, 96 kHz. Set your Surround Mixer to record from WAVE output. It is digital, right? No conversions should be performed - signal shouldn't even leave digital circuits.

Now put the first CoolEdit Pro to playback and the second one - to record. If Audigy was true 24 bit 96 kHz, you'd get about the same type of wave in the second one - sine from 20 Hz to 48 kHz. But you won't. All you'll get is 24 kHz maximum, which is 48 kHz sampling rate.

 

[Dreadogg]

I know the GTXP fits my PC perfectly, plus I have not had one problem with this card except that XP did not support it to the day XP was released! I like the break out box but if you don need it Im sure there are better priced cards out there!

 

[paralazarguer]

jaeger66, as I said, it's not a true 24/96 card. It does perform some functions at 24/96 so the marketing is justified. For more information on this read an article which I wrote here

 

[Jeff7]

What chip does the Phillips Acoustic Edge use?

 

[holdencommodore]

I like the Philips Edge series best. Get the Acoustic Edge if you want a seperate output for both SPDIF in and OUT. The only diff with the Seismic Edge PSC705 (5.1 channel) is that it lacks a Digital CD in, and has a combined SPDIF and Centre/LFE. Get the Rythmic Edge PSC703 if you want 4 speaker sound + coax SPDIF.

All of these cards have the same DSP as the Acoustic Edge, the Philips/QSound ThunderBird Avenger, this means that reviews you read commenting on Acoustic Edge's quality also apply to the PSC705 and PSC703.

The QMSS (QSound Multi Speaker System) algorithim is very good for Music and DVD.

Cheers

 

[BullsOnParade_]

I'm not a huge audio guru but here's my two cents. Having had both cards the Santa Cruz never once locked up my system, which the Audigy has and does so in games(VIA chipset conflict). Outside of that the audigy causes no problems and the firewire port is especially nice to have with an iPod. As far as setting up surround sound or pseudo surround that i've got (2 sets of speakers) neither has really been easier than the other to set up and neither performs any better than the other. I do appreicate the Santa Cruz no nonsense drivers which are updated periodically and prefer them to the junk bundle that comes with the creative.

Hope this helps.
~bulls

 

[jaeger66]

Bottom line: the Santa Cruz just works. You install it, it sounds great, performs great, you're done. No need to screw around for 2 weeks with an Audigy wondering why it can't even play an MP3 without skipping.